Trump’s spending halts raise concerns for Kansas farmers, global stability

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - A federal food aid program started under the Eisenhower Administration has temporarily lost funding under President Donald Trump’s order to dismantle government spending.

Elon Musk is the head of Trump’s newly created department, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Both Trump and Musk pointed at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the humanitarian arm of the United States, for excess spending.

The ‘Food for Peace’ program, managed by USAID, has been assisting for 70 years by sending American-grown crops, such as wheat and sorghum, to regions around the world that struggle to feed themselves. These crops are usually surplus products that were not sold in the market.

On average, FFP said in a 2017 brochure that the United States buys back $2 billion in crops to send to areas across the globe.

The Kansas Farmers Union has warned that the recent disruptions to FFP could eliminate an entire market for Kansas farmers.

“It’ll certainly be an economic hit to Kansas Farmers,” Nick Levendofsky with the Kansas Farmers Union said. “Commodity prices are at an all-time low, and farmers are struggling.”

On Monday, U.S. House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) claimed that food through FFP is stuck. In a statement, Craig said, “There are currently over 550 million metric tons of food – worth over $340 million – that were expected to be provided by America’s farmers, which is now either in limbo or stuck at U.S. export ports, unable to be delivered.”

The funding freeze at USAID is part of a 90-day suspension; however, there are exemptions for essential services such as medicine and food in emergency situations. Organizations working with USAID indicate that the government order is explicit about what constitutes “life-saving assistance.”

The FFP program brought food to areas like Ukraine. The country could not grow enough crops to meet demand because of its ongoing war with Russia. FFP is part of USAID, but the funding comes from the Department of Agriculture.

On a broader note, critics of the funding freeze for USAID worry it could cause instability on a global level.

Daryl Grisgaber, the Humanitarian Policy Lead for Oxfam America, says global stability translates to international safety. Grisgaber believes that pulling funding from humanitarian programs could create an unsafe world where millions of lives are lost.

“It’s a natural thing to think that ‘Oh, if this donor pulls out that money, the U.N. will step in,” Grisgaber. “But the U.S. government also funds a tremendous amount of those U.N. agencies, and that gap is going to be felt.”

In 2023, the United States contributed 27% of all contributions to the United Nations, equaling $12.9 billion. From 2021 to 2023, funding to the U.N. increased by $471 million. From 2017 to 2020, funding jumped $1.2 billion.